Fire at Rosenau & Unified Valve out

Firefighters have finished at the scene of a major fire on the eastern outskirts of Fort St. John, early this morning.

It broke out just before 7.30 Sunday night, at Rosenau Transport and Unified Valve location on the Alaska Highway. The highway was closed for several hours, but as of 11 p.m. Sunday, had been re-opened in both directions.

Fire Chief Fred Burrows confirmed the corrosive and potentially toxic materials burning in the warehouse, sent fireballs shooting up to 500 feet into the air. He described the scene as incredible… [asset|aid=1744|format=mp3player|formatter=asset_bonus|title=81db6d35601cea7a974e83211205dc91-Fred-1_3_Pub.mp3]

The fire forced the evacuation of the Peace Country Trailer Park, and over 25 families checked-in at a reception area set up at the North Peace Arena.

There are approximately 140 trailer homes in the park and BC Hydro cut power to the site, until about four a.m. Monday. Home owners in the Peace Country Trailer Park have been allowed to return to their homes, although several trailers have been damaged.

The damage ranges from melted siding to smoke damage. At this time there is no official estimate on the number of homes damaged.

Fire crews were fighting hot spots until early Monday morning, and Chief Burrows says the Taylor Fire Department assisted in fighting the blaze, while the Charlie Lake Department handled Fort St. John calls during the fire-fighting period.

Chief Burrows says there is no indication so far as to what caused the fire. He has confirmed there were no injuries.

This video shows all that remains of the Rosenau Transport and Unified Valve building and the damage done to a mobile home located directly behind the building.